Open Water
by ingsception
Summary: She lost Beck to a question about the ocean. A place she fears. She decides to face it and swim. What happens when Beck doesn't save her when she drowns? Would Jade learn to swim on her own? Or would someone in particular give her air to breathe? Ryder/Jade!
1. The Cliff

He almost kissed her. He _tried_ to kiss her. I knew it. He wanted her. From the very beginning.

Damn it, Jade! How could you be so stupid!

It was Friday afternoon, and school ended early, leaving me alone in bed, stuck with my own depressing thoughts.

_"I don't like her like that, Jade! Tori's just a friend."_

Bullshit, Beck! I feel tears fall down from my face, not bothering to wipe them away. How did we end up like this? How did I let him go? How did _he_ let me go?

_"I'm not happy with our relationship!"_ I wince, recalling the time we were still in Sinjin's game show. Stupid game show! Our fights had gotten worse over one question. A query I didn't want to answer…

It was about the ocean. He knows I don't go to the ocean! He knows what happened to me in there! But he pushes me to the stupid question...

The ocean, huh? The ocean took too many stuff from me… But I'm Jade West. I'm not afraid of anything. Not anymore.

_Tick, tock Tick, tock, Tick, tock._ I think about what I was gonna do... Damn it, I'm not a weakling!

I grabbed my keys from the dresser, and ran downstairs.

"I'll be in the casino, if you need me, honey!" my mom calls to me as I pass her. _As if_, I thought.  
I ran to the garage, bringing nothing but my keys. I left my phone in my room. I started the engine, then pulled out of the driveway, heading to the beach.

I didn't like driving in the daylight, but it's nearly 5:30. The sun was about to set. I pulled my windows down, feeling the wind in my face, preparing myself on what I was about to do.  
After fifteen more minutes, I pulled over. I could already hear the waves, and smell the saltwater. I was in a beach called the 'Outskirts'.  
It's not exactly Venice beach, but it was a peaceful beach to be in. My dad brought me here when I was a little girl. I remember him telling me not many people come here, but it was a good place to collect your thoughts or clear your head. Though I was here right now for a different purpose. I needed to face my fear.

I started to trudge up the raised part in the right side of the beach, heading up the cliff.

_I can do this_, I thought to myself._ I needed to do this._

After a few minutes of walking, I was at the edge of the cliff, the water right below me. It was a bit windy today, the waves must be bigger than usual... I watch them crash against the boulders. It was at least 60 feet above the water, and I don't even know how deep it was after I've jumped. I didn't bother to look at the shore, which was probably unoccupied, due to the "fame" of the beach. But I think I just saw a glimpse of fire..

"Too many thoughts." I mumble to myself. "Let's get this over with."

I remove my black sweater, tights, skirt, and combat boots; Leaving me in a tank top and my panties.

_I'm gonna count to ten._ I thought._ No. Ten's not a good number to count. On three, Jade._

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

Then I flung myself of the cliff, crashing into the cold water. The second I jumped, I remembered something: I didn't quite know how to dive properly.

I was right.

I hit the water badly, chest first. Pain overwhelmed my torso. I couldn't move properly. I was sinking, further down in the water, when I realized I had to swim up. But it wasn't easy. The waves were tossing me into every direction, leaving me helpless. And when I finally got my head over the surface, a big wave pushed me backwards, and my head hit boulder.  
I could tell there was a wound cause I could feel the searing pain slicing my skull. I couldn't think properly now, and I was still underwater, feeling saltwater fill up my nostrils.  
Then saw a dolphin heading straight at me. No! He was going to take me away. No, please… I try my best to swim away, but my body was too weak from the crash. I couldn't feel my legs either.. I lost hope. What was the point to this?

There was no Beck to live to. He wasn't even here to protect me, to _save me_. He was gone. I might as well be.

My eyes were slowly closing when I felt something move beside me. And then something was grabbing me, pulling me to a direction I didn't know which. Hmm, must be a squid. The squid was pulling me away from the dolphin though, who was starting to swim away. I felt my head hit the surface. I can breathe again, but I couldn't. I think my lungs gave up as my heart had.

_I love you, Beck._ Were the last words I thought of before giving myself up to the darkness..

.

"Jade!" the voice shouted. "What the hell are you doing! Wake up!"

He was pumping my chest repeatedly. "Jade!"

"Jade, don't you dare die!" And then I felt warm breath fill my mouth and throat. Was he kissing me? He kissed me repeatedly. Wow, a squid was kissing me… Huh… He kissed me one last time, and I choked seawater out of my system.

"Jade?" the desperate voice asked again. That was when I realized it wasn't a squid.

It was a boy.

I flitted my eyes open, and saw the face of the wet, topless boy with panic and worry in his eyes. I croak when I try to say his name.

"Ryder?"

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Like it? Or not? Please review... :( Please...


	2. Stubborn

Chapter 2, guys! Sorry it took a while.. This is in Ryder's POV :)

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"Ryder?" she finally said when her eyes flitted open. I smirked, but then she fell once again into unconsciousness.

Now what?

She was in her underwear and a black tank top. I need to take it off, but she might kill me when she wakes up. Still, her top was too wet. She might get sick. I didn't want to die, so tried my best to get water out of her top, twisting it.

"That should do for now." I mumble to myself. I lift her, and carry her next to my campfire. I place her gently in the sand, covering her with my hoodie and shirt which I took off before jumping after her. I used my shorts for myself, trying to cover a bit of my torso. It was windy and I was wet. Not a good combination. I rubbed my palms together and place them near the fire, trying to warm myself. Why the hell was Jade West here? And why did she jump off that cliff? Last I heard, she threatened Ms. Murray, our swim coach, for making her dive in the 12ft pool. Did she even know how to swim? I look at the unconscious girl in black, and start to wonder. Truly the most interesting girl I ever met.

The sun had already set for like an hour now, and Jade still hasn't woken up yet. There was no hut, nor roof in this beach. No shelter, cause no one actually visits here much. Which wasn't convenient cause I felt a gust of cold wind, unlike the warm breeze I was feeling just a while ago. I rub my palms once more, enjoying my last moments with the campfire I made. Ironically, that was when I felt the first drop on my arm. I stood up quickly, and scooped up Jade along with my clothes. We were gonna need them.

Wait. Where are HER clothes? Probably up the cliff… Oh, Jade. Why the hell did you jump?

I settled in under a tree, which probably wasn't going to save us from the rain, sat down, and placed her head on my lap. She probably wasn't going to like that, but it's better than letting her sleep on top of uncomfortable tree roots, which I was sitting on. She woke up a few minutes later, cause of the drops that were hitting her face.

"Hey." I greeted her awkwardly. She seemed a bit too confused to answer. "Uh, not to be abrupt, Jade but uh.. Did you drive here? Cause obviously, we need a roof."

"Yeah, I did." She replies, her voice croaks slightly. And then her face turns into an expression of annoyance, and curses. _"Fuck."_

"Your keys are in your clothes on the cliff, right?" I ask. She nods. "I'll go get them, but stay here." She tries to protest, but eventually lets me go. I ran my way to the cliff. It was raining really hard, and I was running in just my boxers, so the rain hurt my skin like sticks poking my skin with every drop. I reach the top and found Jade's discarded clothes by the edge. I check her sweater and felt her keys. I then ran my way back to her, but the trip was a little shorter, for she tried to follow me. She had a hard time too, I could tell. How stubborn can you be, West? So I quickly picked her up, and started running towards the road. She squirmed in my grasp.

"How could you be so stubborn? I told you to stay put!" I scold the raven-haired girl in my arms, while running at the same time.

"Put me down, Ryder! I have my own feet!" she protested.

"Can't do that." I snap at her, holding her tight in my arms. I found her car and beeped it open. I placed her in the backseat before I sat, then closed the door. All our discarded clothes were wet, so I threw them over the front seats. It was a good thing Jade has black leather seat covers. I was shivering like hell, so I tried rubbing my palms together once more. Jade was curled up in a ball, trying to warm herself.

"You okay there?" _Stupid question_. She nods. _Stupid answer._

"Let's just start the car, and drive back home." She says, quite tiredly.

"We can't." I reply. She looks at to me questioningly. I continue, "The roads here are dangerous when it's raining, and it's already dark. Let's just wait the rain or the sun out. Whichever comes first."

She groans and slumps back in her position. We both knew we couldn't even turn on the heater, for the car will run out of gas, which left us shivering in our unclothed bodies. We were silent, except for teeth chattering. And then I couldn't take it any longer.

"You do know we could heat each other up, right?" I tease her.

"I'm aware of that." She answers.

"Is that a—"

"No." I laugh. She faces me now. "Why are you laughing?"

"Cause after you drowning, me saving you and all that, you're still the same stubborn Jade West." I say.

"Well, yeah. Who'd you want me to be? Taylor Swift?"

I chuckle. "I like Demi Lovato better."

Jade actually smiles. "Me too."

.

"Y-you know, y-you c-could pass for a vampire now." I try to tease her, stuttering in the process cause I was really cold. She was too.

"I-I'm no B-bella Swan." she says, quite seriously.

"I know." I chuckle.

"R-ryder?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I really need to p-pee." She informs me. I would have laughed, but in this case, it wasn't funny.

"Yeah, m-me too." I say.

"Le-Let's just b-both get outside the rain, th-then do our stufffff, k-kay?" she says. "On three."

"One.." "Two.." "Three!"

We both opened our door on either side. She was on the right side, by the beach. And I was on the left side, by the road. I finished first, and entered the car once more. She followed after a few seconds. We were wetter again.

"Jade, c-can you please re-think the c-cuddling?" I ask her. I couldn't take the cold anymore.

"F-fine, let's do it." She says. I was a bit surprised, but I hovered my arms over her a bit too eagerly. "Wait." She brushed my arms off for a sec. I put my arms back down, then looked at her questioningly. She grimaced then took off her wet top, threw it on the passenger's seat, revealing her black laced bra. I controlled my jaw before it dropped. She then motioned me to hug her, and so I did. I buried my face on her neck, embracing all the heat she could provide.

"Survival one-oh-one." I whispered to ear.

"Don't enjoy this too much." She warned me._ I'll try._

"You're tired." I say simply. If Jade was in her usual spunk, she wouldn't let anybody hug her like this. Well maybe Oliver, but..

"I'm not tired." She says. Still the old stubborn Jade.

"You almost drowned today. Get some sleep. You need it." She looks up to my face, hers just a few inches from mine. Her eyes were really soft, not a hint of protest left. She sighs, then nods. We both lay down in the backseat, still cuddling each other for heat. I let her use my arm as a pillow, then let her drift off to sleep.

* * *

**Beck's POV**

"Guys! Jadey's in trouble!" Cat cries, running to us with her PearPhone. We all put our attention on her.

"What'd she say?" I ask the red-headed girl, sounding a bit worried.

"Nothing!" she replies.

"What?" Robbie asks.

"Nothing?" Rex chimes in.

_"Nothing?"_ Tori repeats after Rex. Cat just shakes her head.

"Then what's wrong with that?" Rex asks.

"She's not answering! She's not picking up her phone!" she cries.

"Maybe she's just busy." Andre suggests.

"No! Jadey answers all the time! She asks me 'What?', and then hangs up when I start to tell my story!"

"Maybe she's just annoyed with you, Cat." Tori says. I shake my head. Wrong choice of words.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"Here, Cat. Play with my keys for a sec." I throw her my keys, mimicking Jade when she was annoyed with the girl.

She caught them, but then protested for a sec. "But-"

"I'm sure Jade's fine, Cat." Tori consoles her. "She can handle herslelf."

"Kaykay.."

"And we really need to finish this project, so come on, guys!" Tori whines, and puts us back to work.

_Get your thoughts back to work then, Beck._ I tell myself.

* * *

Like it? Let me know... :)

Mistyflower68, Bloodangel's cry, asian fusion-tike, Guest1, iamvegas, Guest2: Thank you for the reviews, guys! I kinda like Ryder-Jade too. Though I really ship Bade..

CreatingCassie: I appreciate your long review. :) Thank youuu. Yeah, I might need to take a second look in my work before I post them. Sorry. sometimes I'm just in a rush to publish

Hi again, **Mistyflower68**, for being my first reviewer in this storyy! Thank youuu :)


	3. Up Close

Hey, guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated for so long :(( These school stuff are just so complicated :( nggghhhh Sorry! This update is for **jhenybadefan** who PM'd me for an update :)Thank you for the love! :D Here's chapter 3! Hope you guys review more! :)

* * *

**Ryder's POV**

I was in an awkward position that I can't sleep.

It's not that there was a girl, only in her underwear in my arms, but my limbs are starting to go numb.

But I can't move.

I don't want to wake her up. So instead, I found myself listening to the sound of her breathing, watching her sleep.

I never thought I'd be able to look at Jade West _this_ close. She was pretty, flawless, has that bit of edge in her face… She was gorgeous.  
I used to have a big crush on her back in her eighth grade. I was just too scared to make a move cause all her suitors end up with coffee in their pants. That usually amazed and terrified me.  
Though I had a high reputation in school, I still thought of her as out of my league. I soon got distracted by my hormones and other girls, that I got over my little crush on her, yet she still amused me by constantly torturing guys. That was why I was so surprised when I found her Oliver's arm one day. Guess she doesn't have a heart of stone after all. She's probably heartbroken right now…

I was adjusting my arm at the back of her head when she suddenly winced unconsciously. I then checked her head and saw her wound. Why the hell didn't she say a word? And why haven't I noticed that before? I grab my wet shirt from the front seat and gently pat it against her wound. The rain water should do for now…

**Jade's POV**

I wake up to the sound of the thunder.

"Hey." He greets me again. He didn't sleep?

"Uh, hey. Ow." I sit up feel my head. I did have a wound.

"Here." Ryder hands me his wet shirt.

"Thanks." I mumble, patting the wet clothing on my wound. Ryder smiles to himself, as if having an inside joke. I ignore him. "What time is it?" I ask.

"I don't know. I didn't bring a watch or phone."

"Oh." I mumble. "Why were you here, Ryder?" I suddenly ask him.

He chuckles. "I should ask you the same question."

"Ugh."

"_And why the hell_ did you jump off that cliff?"

"I was trying to prove something. Don't worry. I'm not suicidal." I say in a bored tone. Silence washed over us. I couldn't sleep now, cause of the searing pain I feel at the back of my head.

"It's because of Oliver, isn't it?" he suddenly asks.

"Hmm?"

"You jumped off that cliff because of your boyfriend." He says.

"_Ex-boyfriend_. And no, I didn't jump off that cliff because Beck broke up with me." I spat bitterly.

He chuckles. "I know. You made that clear a while ago, but I know it has something to do with him."

I raise an eyebrow. "I don't need to explain this to you, Daniels. In fact, I don't trust you."

He scoffs. "Well, Ms. West. Should I remind you that I saved your life today?_ You owe me._"

"I hate owing people!" I complain.

He laughs. "Well?"

"Fine." I groan. "You know how Beck and I broke up?"

"I've heard of the story."

I roll my eyes. "Well, it started with Sinjin's gameshow... We were supposed to answer a question about the ocean."

"You don't like the ocean." Ryder tells me. As if I don't know that.

I sigh out of frustration and continue, "Yeah, I don't. Which is why I didn't answer the damn question."

"Why don't you like the ocean?" he asks.

"It's a long story." I say bitterly. He didn't respond for a while. I concentrated on the pain at the back of my head, patting the wet cloth gently to it, then I was shivering again. Ugh. I'm gonna have to use his body heat again…

"You're afraid of it, aren't you?" he once again suddenly asks.

"What?"

"You're afraid of the ocean." He tells me. I just stare at him.

He then pushes a lock of hair in my face and tucks it under my ear. "So let me get this straight," he says. "You went all the way here just to prove that you aren't afraid of the ocean?" Why was he asking all these questions?

I was too tired to deny, so I just nod.

"But there's no audience." He says. It wasn't a question.

"I know that." I say.

He looks straight at me. "You were trying to prove that to _yourself_, and _not_ for anyone." It wasn't a question either. Wow. I've only talked to him for like how many hours? And yet he gets me. And so I nod.

He smiles. "I like that."

.

"Come here." He tells me, and pulls me into a hug. Apparently, he could hear my teeth chattering once again. "You know, we could heat up more if we made out."

"I am not gonna kiss you, Ryder."

"I'll take that bet." He says smugly, teasing me.

I should be pissed right now, but I'm not. Instead, I burst out laughing.

He smiles. "What?"

"You're pathetic." I manage to blurt out while holding my stomach as I laugh.

He chuckles. "Trust me, you're gonna take that back."

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! Please?

So...** Question:** Do you want Jade and Ryder to make out (meaningless) this early in the story? Or should I save it for the next chapters?

Review, please! I'll make the chapter as soon as I get your answers :)

.

Clarity23: Thank you! I really enjoy all your reviews, even with my first story :) Thanks! I'm currently reading your story :*

Jeremy Shane: haha Aww! I wouldn't say it was legendary, but thank you! Means a lot! :D

jhenybadefan: Thank you sooooo much! I'll try my best to update ASAP. Thanks for the PM too! :* Mwaaahh


	4. Driving slow

Hi, guys. Sorry this took a while. Stuff at school were really complex so.. Sorry for the delay. And oh! Most of you didn't want Ryder and Jade to make out just yet so.. :)  
And guys, I need your help. Could you please request FanFiction to put a "Ryder D." as a character here in Victorious? Send an email to - **support ** :)  
For more information about that, check support/ thanks

I don't own Victorious nor the song "Strip" by Chris Brown.

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**Jade's POV**

Ryder Daniels was finally asleep. I think he's been watching over me all this time. And now I owe him big time. Nghhh I hate owing people. Why did he even bother in the first place? It's not like we're friends or anything… Maybe, he just couldn't let a person die like that…

What would Beck do?

...

He'd try to rescue anyone too..

Dizziness and pain were all that I could feel in my head. I couldn't sleep now. And we really can't drive in this storm. I just need to distract myself for the time being.. Once again, I look at the face of my savior. Our bodies were really intact, cause the backseat's obviously not big for us to lie in. His right bicep served as my pillow, and his left arm was draped on me. Both of my hands were on his muscular chest, providing him heat. Ryder Daniels and I were never close, yet here we are, all over each other.

I look closely at his face. His skin was smooth, his eyelashes were long, and his lips were…

What the hell am I doing? Ugh. I shut my eyes tight, and try to distract myself, this time away from the boy sleeping next to me.

.

I wake up, and the car was already moving. It was still dark and raining outside, but I can see little streaks of light about to emerge from the sky.

"Goodmorning, princess." Ryder greets me from the driver's seat.

"Shut your face."

"Whoa, whoa. Okay, wrong word."

I smile at him sarcastically. "And I thought we couldn't ride through the dark."

"Yeah, well. I can manage driving slowly. Plus, we really need to get you in the hospital."

"Hospital? I'm fine." I retort.

It was his turn to smile at me sarcastically.

"We're not going to the hospital, Daniels!" I scold him.

"You're in so much pain, and yet you're still refusing to get patched up? Wow, you must really hate hospitals."

"I'm not refusing to get patched up. I'm refusing to go to the hospital." I correct him. "And there's just so much more that I hate."

"Yeah, I know. I've watched some of your Slap videos." he tells me.

I raise an eyebrow at him. He has?

"I find them amusing, okay?" he raises his hands up from the wheel for a moment as if to say 'he has done nothing wrong'.

"Whatever. Pull over." I tell him.

"What?"

"I said. Pull. Over." I say through gritted teeth. "I wanna sit up front, not that I have to explain everything to you."

He simply shrugged and pulled over. I opened the car door and moved swiftly to sit shotgun. And after a second, I was shivering again. Ryder was too, though barely. Well, yeah, what do you expect? The only clothing we have on is our underwear.

"We should talk. Our breaths will warm the air a little." Ryder suggests.

"Talk? You might have noticed that my name is not Cat Valentine, and when I do talk, it's mostly insults and disturbing facts."

_"Mostly_," He repeats after me. "but not everything."

**Ryder's POV**

"Hmm. How bout we sing instead?" I suggest.

"Sing?" she questions me.

"Yeah, sing. I heard you're a good singer and shit."

She glares at me at first, but then agrees a moment later. "Turn on the radio."

I smirk at her response. I push the button and—

_Girl I just wanna see you strip right now, cause its late babe_

Shit. My hands froze in place. I did _not_ do that on purpose. Jade's gonna kill me!

_Girl I just wanna see you strip, girl take your time with it  
Girl I just wanna see you strip, God damn you sexy, Goddamn you sexy, God damn you sexy  
Girl I just wanna see you_

My thoughts were then interrupted by sudden fit of laughter.

"HAHAHA Ohmygod! You're face is priceless!" she exclaimed in contrast to the song playing, still howling with laughter. "You thought I was going to stab you or something!"

"Shut up, West."

She muffled her laughter and paused from teasing me. "Oh, come on, Daniels! Lighten up a bit! I won't take offense on that, don't worry. So what, if I'm only in my bra and my.. my uh.."

"Panties?"

"Ngghhhh, I hate that word!" she cries.

"Well in that case… Panties, panties, PANTIEEES!" I shout in the car.

"SHUT UP!"

"PANTIES, PANTIES, PANT-" My shouting was muffled by her hand gripping on my mouth. I try to jerk it away with my head, but wasn't successful. I couldn't leave my hands off the wheel, so I lick hers.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" She remarks, apparently feeling my tongue on her hand. She just chuckled when I bit her hand, finally let go, and sang along to the radio.

_"The only reason why I dress you in that designer, is to get you out that Dolce and Gabbana  
I throw this money up, she watch it all fall  
Toot that thang up, ... " _she sang.

I look at her with a disbelieving look. "What?" she questions me. "It has a good beat." I simply shrug, and sing the chorus along with her.

_"Girl I just wanna see you strip right now, cause its late babe  
Girl I just wanna see you strip, girl take your time with it  
Girl I just wanna see you strip, Goddamn you sexy, Goddamn you sexy, Goddamn you sexy  
Girl I just wanna see you"_

We just finished the Chris Brown song when I remembered a tiny significant detail. "Uh, Jade? Did you bring your wallet?" I ask her. "Cause we do have to pay for ER."

"Wait. I think I stashed my dad's credit card here somewhere.." She then opened the utility space in front of her seat, and started rummaging through stuff. As she did, I reached out and picked up a yellow plaid shirt.

"Hey, why don't you put this on? You're really cold." I suggest, trying to ease her discomfort a bit.

She noticed the clothing and jerked away from it.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, suddenly alarmed.

"I am not wearing that." She says, leaning away from it as far as her seat allows.

"Why not?"

"Cause I don't want to!"

"Why are you so stubborn? Just take it!"

"I AM NOT WEARING THAT SHIRT, OKAY!?" she suddenly shouts. "Fine, take me to the hospital! Just don't shove that thing at me."

I was dumfounded. I put the shirt on my lap instead. I let a few seconds of silence tick by, and glance at her occasionally. She looked as if she was about to cry..

"It's Beck's isn't it?" I ask. She doesn't answer me and keeps staring at the wet road. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't realize at first.."

"It's not your fault." She says. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"You're actually apologizing for snapping at someone?" I ask in disbelief.

She nods quietly. "I don't usually snap at someone with this kind of emotion." And then she comes back with a threat. "But if you tell someone, I will rip your head off."

"Graphic." I chuckle lightly. We were silent again. And then I break it.

I look in her eyes as I tell her. "For the record, that Oliver kid is a dumbass."

She manages to smile slightly in return. "Okay, now I got to find that credit card."

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Sorry, this was a long one. Feel free to review :) :) Please though?

I'll thank the reviewers on the next chapter, coz this chap is a long one.


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